Monday, August 26, 2013

Montrealers should all know who Dr. Penfield is, but if you're unfamiliar with him, check out this Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilder_Penfield A few weeks ago my friend Dan was staying at a country house near Montreal, and found this old bird guide among the books. It turns out it was Dr. Penfield's bird guide (published in 1928)! Exciting. He took some pictures and returned it to its place. I wonder if the song notes are Dr. Penfield's? Good eye, Dan! Very interesting/poignant to see The Ivory-billed Woodpecker (possibly some left in 'Indian Territory'!?) and 'Carolina Paroquet' among the pages. Anyways, enjoy - history is awesome.

Last week saw me re-visit Chuja-do, an island roughly halfway between Jeju and the mainland (and relatively close to Gageo!). I didn't see much from the ferry other than about a dozen Streaked Shearwater. Chuja-do itself was fairly quiet, with a handful of Pacific Swifts seen from atop a hill, and a dead Common Snipe found nearby. If I'm honest, I'm pretty awful when it comes to IDing snipes on sight - I rely more on flushing behaviour when it comes to snipes. I took some images of the wing and tail in an attempt to better familiarize myself with the key features to look for, but I fear I'd need a month-long intensive snipe course to fully be comfortable with IDing snipes in the field. On a trip out to the west coast I spotted a Zitting Cisticola, a Little Ringed Plover, and several Far Eastern Skylarks in a productive patch of farm fields. Closer to home, I've recently found a nice quiet spot with at least three confiding White-back Woodpeckers (the official bird of Jeju), and I've been hearing both Lesser and Oriental Cuckoos relatively close to downtown Seogwipo.Birds Korea have recently updated their amazing gallery, with quite a few new images and videos. Do yourself a favour and check it out: http://www.birdskorea.org/Gallery/BK-GA-Gallery-Introduction-2013.shtml

It has been record-breakingly hot and humid here on Jeju over the past month. Water levels are at dangerously low levels across the island, and farmers are suffering. As for birds, I've seen a decent array of young birds in different stages of fledging, when I'm not blinded by sweat. Young Pheasants are bigger than pigeons already, and I've been watching juvenile Brown-eared Bulbuls grow at an impressive rate. A few weeks ago I spotted two Black Wood Pigeons clacking through a nice-looking stretch of coastal forest, but they've remained elusive since then. In my ramblings around my old stomping grounds, I've been disturbed by some of the habitat loss that has occurred over the past two years, more on this soon.

About Me

Howdy! I'm a birder from Montreal who has been working and birding in South Korea since 2005. I've lived on Jeju and Geoje Islands, and have birded at a diverse range of sites in South Korea. After drifting around Europe for a bit, I'm back in Suncheon, Korea for one last hurrah. Ergo sum ego avem. (contact me at mattpoll24 at gmail dot com)